To spool up a little excitement for this year’s Frankfurt auto show, Maserati has called on Italian fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna to put its designer touch on the Quattroporte. Curiously referred to as a “limited-edition concept” by Maserati, the automaker says the show car is “intended for development into a production version in 2014, and will maintain the same personality and quality of the current Quattroporte range.” To clarify: it’s a thinly veiled, future (limited) production model masquerading as a concept, and the modifications are limited to color scheme, materials, and finish.

To create the Quattroporte Zegna edition’s special Platinum Metal finish, the paint is tinted with ultra-fine aluminum pigments and applied over a gloss-black primer, which Maserati says amplifies the brilliance of the pigments and creates a sensation of depth. We’ll reserve our final judgment until we get a closer inspection, but at first glance, the effect seems to subtly emphasize sharp creases in the bodywork.

Zegna’s approach to the interior is based on taking classical warm hues, assigning them appropriately esoteric names like Moka and Greige, and bringing them in line with the fashion house’s latest men’s fashion collections. The seats, door panels, and roof lining are finished in leather, and complemented by matte-finished wood trim pieces and herringbone paneling.